Brave
by Doverstar
Summary: Galan Walker, my PnF OC, is having trouble this Valentine's Day when he tries to come up with a way of making it special for Valia, his crush and best friend. With some advice from Isabella, a chat with Phineas, and a little creativity, he comes up with the perfect Valentine...especially when Valia reveals how it's pretty much the worst day ever for her! One-shot, R&R!


**(Galan's POV)**

My name's Galan Walker. I'm 17, and today is Valentine's Day. I plan on spending it with my best friend. Her name is Valia Toir, age 16, turns 17 this year.

I wanna do something really, really special for her today. Not only is she my best friend, but for a while she was my only friend. Until I met Phineas, Ferb, and their group, Valia was all I really had. Turns out I was her first real friend too. I'm the high and mighty rich dude where I live (this tropical Resort on the outskirts of Danville) because my parents actually own this Resort. So the other kids all acted like I had leprosy, thinking I'd treat them like peasants or something. Then Valia came along.

She's amazing. I know that sounds corny, but I'm not exaggerating even a little bit. She loves purple and popsicles and she always knows exactly what to say to cheer me up when I'm bummed. She bounces more than she walks, her smile is hardcore contagious, and her eyes have this crystal-cave glitter thing goin' on all the time...

So in case you haven't guessed yet, over the years I've developed a pretty huge crush on Valia. But 'crush' seems like a really stupid way of putting it. I think about her practically as much as I inhale oxygen, and if she's upset or even a little quiet, I start acting like a total idiot trying to get her back to normal, 'cuz I can't stand seeing her unhappy at all. You'd think this would make our friendship weird, right?

Yeah, well, thing is, she has no clue. I'm talking totally Nothin'-Goin'-On-Upstairs clueless. And I've been just fine keeping it that way. If she ever did find out, I might lose the only friend I've ever had, not to mention the only one I've ever wanted to keep this badly. Phineas and the gang are so cool, don't get me wrong, but Valia-I'm just crazy for her.

Lately, though, it's been eating me up more than usual. I mean, it's Valentine's Day and I have no idea what to do for her. Completely drained of all creativity.

So what did I do? I turned to the most creative guy on the planet.

I dialed his number while strumming my guitar, cell phone nestled between my ear and shoulder as I sat on my bed.

" Phineas?"

17-year-old Phineas Flynn answered, "Oh, hey, Galan! Ferb, it's Galan. Ferb 's waving." His voice sounded muffled by the noise of construction in the background. Another sweet invention in the making. "Guess what Ferb and I are building?"

"Uh...Something, I'm gonna go with something."

He laughed. "Right no matter the circumstances! Clever. We're makin' a Hose Arena."

"A what?"

"Hose Arena. You know how summer's just not summer without a nice hose to chase people with?"

"Uh-huh."

"Well, we're making the ultimate hose battle right in Danville Park! ...It's gonna take a lot of local hose donations, though. I'm sure the public'll be happy to contribute!"

"Sounds epic," I told him wistfully. Lucky kid. "Wish I was there to see it."

"So why don't you come over?"

"Can't. Valentine's Day 'member?"

"Oh, that's right! We have almost everything ready for the party tonight." His voice dropped to a whisper. "Don't tell Isabella, but I've got something special planned for her!"

"That's cool, Phineas, no worries, but uh, I'm kinda wiggin' out about my own plans, y'know?" My guitar hit a sour note and I scowled down at it, continuing to play.

"Right, right. ...Hold on." His voice sounded further away from the phone as he shouted, "Buford, not on top of the squirrel monument! Candace, stop screaming, it's just a statue, okay? That's it. Just a statue. There you go, sis." He turned his attention back to me. "So what's the problem, big guy?"

"It's just...you know, nothing-"

"Oh, okay."

"No, I mean, I've literally got nothing, Phineas."

"What?"

"Well, I wanted to do something for Valia."

"Valia? For Valentine's Day?" He sounded confused.

"Uh, yeah." I backtracked quickly. Phineas is kind of thickheaded when it comes to girls and crushes and stuff, but even he's kinda suspicious about he way I act around Valia. Which tells me it's kinda obvious...to everyone but her. "I just thought I'd do something cool for her, 'cuz, y'know, she's my best friend. But I got nothin'."

"Really? No gift?"

"No gift."

"No gesture?"

"No gesture."

"Nothing?"

"Zip."

"That's a problem, all right."

He was distracted by the Arena thing, I could tell. He wasn't getting it. But I knew someone who would.

"Hey, Phin, is Isabella there? Can you put her on?"

"Izzie? Sure!"

Isabella was really the only one I'd ever officially told about my feelings for Valia. She would've figured it out anyway.

"Hello?" There she was.

"Izzie, it's Galan."

"Hi! I know, Phineas told me. What's up?"

I stopped strumming and just tapped my guitar pick on the wood of the guitar for a few seconds, trying to come up with what to say.

"Okay." I took a deep breath. "You know how it took forever for Phineas to actually figure out you liked him?"

"Yeah, it was brutal."

"What made you decide to tell him?

She was quiet for a minute. Felt like an hour, and I'm thinking, Oh, take your sweet time. I'm just upside-down freaked out over here.

Finally she said, "When I was ready to give up, and when it really counted, it just...I don't know, clicked for him. I guess."

"That doesn't help me."

"Well, excuse me!" Isabella muttered into the phone, and I could just see her with one hand on her hip.

Then she got it.

I held the phone away from my ear as she squealed, "Wait! Are you thinking of telling Valia?"

"Shh!" I said, just in case Phineas or the others were near her. "Yeah, maybe." I grinned and chortled when she let out another squeal. Girls.

"So what are you waiting for? Go go go!"

"You sound like Phineas' sister."

"Galan, go!"

"Um, that might be a problem right now."

"Why?"

"Because she's not even in the room. She's not even at the Resort yet, I mean. She's supposed to get here this afternoon."

The thing is, Valia lives a couple hours away from me. She visits the Resort for each whole summer, and basically all holidays, too.

"Oh. Well then, get ready! You need a romantic setting! Candlelight! Solitude!"

My stomach was starting to tie itself up in knots. "Uh...Hang on, Isabella, I'm not so sure..."

"Wait, Phineas needs his phone back."

"How come?"

"He needs to call Paul."

"As in, Paul the Delivery Guy?"

"Yeah. So I gotta go. Look, Galan, if you get too nervous..."

Too late.

"...Try making a gesture or something. I dropped a lot of hints like that when Phineas was clueless. I think it helped."

"Yeah," I tried not to sound totally petrified at even the thought of that. She was only trying to help. "Thanks, Izzie. Bye."

She hung up and I sighed. This was gonna be tough. I'd decided by now that I wouldn't just tell Valia I was crushin'. I wanted to leave a hint, nothing more. I guess I don't have the guts to let her know yet. But what hint should I leave?

* * *

When Valia got to the Resort, she hopped out of the car and bolted over to me, blonde hair flying, throwing her arms around my neck, and it was like I'd run into an electric fence; my whole body was tingling so much.

She was wearing her usual purple T-shirt with green sleeves, white khaki pants, and purple green sandals. And, of course , the huge purple hat she never went anywhere without.

"Galan! Omigosh, Galan, that car ride was torment! Tor. Ment. Like rolling up a slice of ham and putting Pepto-Bismol in it and force-feeding it to yourself torment!"

She doesn't like ham. Or Pepto-Bismol. Just so you know.

"That bad, huh?" I grunted. "Happy Valentine's Day, Valia."

She pulled away and gave me a bitter look that was so un-Valia I started to wonder whether I was looking at the right girl. What was up?

Then she switched back to her normal perky self and squeaked, "I am so starved right now, you wouldn't believe it! Like, I could eat you if I wanted to!"

"Please don't," I teased. "I'm using the flesh on my bones at the moment."

"That's okay, the eyeballs are the best part anyway!"

I pulled a face and she grabbed my wrist, tugging me toward the main building.

"C'mon, let's get something to munch!"

* * *

As soon as we were seated with two enormous slices of pizza in front of us, I cleared my throat.

"Okay, what's wrong with Valentine's Day?"

She ignored that and folded her pizza several times over, nibbling it in several places strategically. "This is so good! Like, kick your turtle good! So good I need a turtle to kick. As in, right this instant!"

"V."

"I mixed my sodas at the machine up there, and this tall chick gave me the hairy eyeball for it."

"Valia..."

"I was all like, 'Step aside, tall person, ever heard of a Suicide Drink?' And I imagined being so tall I could squish her, only what kind of cleaning wipe gets off squished human from the bottom of your shoe? Nasty, right?"

I stared at her, not even hiding my grin. "Do you hear the words that come out of your mouth, V?"

"Sometimes. Not really. Hey, you know what I think?"

"I will in a minute," I teased.

"I think chocolate smells way better than flowers."

"This is true."

"All flowers should smell like chocolate." She snapped her fingers and pointed dramatically to the sky, booming out, "Galan, I know what we're gonna do today!"

I laughed. "Look, Val..."

"Check it out!" She held up her pizza slice. She'd nibbled it till it looked like a snowflake, as if it were made of paper. "I hear it snows in February in other places. Not here, 'cuz, you know, it's a tropical Resort, but it would still be cool!"

"Valia, seriously-what was that face?"

"Which one?"

"The one you made when I went, 'Happy Valentine's Day."'

Her cute smile disappeared (very rare) and she scowled.

"You don't like Valentine's Day?" I was surprised. Surprised and worried.

She tossed her snowflake pizza into her mouth, downed it, and answered a little more quietly, "Yeah. Just not this Valentine's Day."

My eyebrows dipped. "Really? How come?"

The scowl deepened. Scary. There's nothing I hate more than a long face.

"You don't have to tell me," I told her quickly, leaning back in my chair.

She shrugged. "No, it's just...something stupid happened."

I waited. Hey, if she's gonna tell me, she'll tell me on her own time.

Valia finally blinked and huffed, blowing a strand of blonde hair out of her eyes.

"So last summer you remember I told you about how I kinda liked that guy we met at the Town Pool?"

I remembered. How could I forget? Fin Jacobs, spiky-haired ginger with an Irish accent and a lot of other qualities Valia liked in a guy. He was a smooth-talking flirt with his sights set on my best friend. You could call her young and foolish (it was only a year ago) at the time, but he'd been her first crush from what I could tell. I also remember "accidentally" pushing him into the pool when he tried to take Valia's hand. He had no business touching her anyway. Anyway, from what Valia had told me, they'd kept in close contact over the last few months.

"Yeah," I muttered, trying to sound indifferent.

"And you remember how he asked me out a couple times too?"

"Yeah." Ouch.

"And I said no but I really liked the idea?"

"Yes." Get to the point, this is bad enough already.

"Well, I was just starting to think, like, maybe he'd want me to be his Valentine and all that, 'cuz we've been getting pretty tight. But when I went over to his house this morning to wish him a happy one..."

She actually looked upset, like she was gonna cry or something. If she cried, I was gonna be a basket case trying to get her to stop and be happy and bouncy again.

I was immediately concerned. "What happened?"

She inhaled quickly, looking like she didn't know whether to bawl or punch something; hopefully not the former.

"He was with some other girl in the backyard, giving her a Valentine. Not me."

I could tell she was crushed. For some unexplainable reason, only one or two guys have ever even shown interest in her as far as I could tell. So when Fin came along and stuck around, I guess she got her hopes up. And all this time the loser had been wooing another poor unfortunate soul.

Valia was close to tears now. Crying was really not like her. At all. Basket case, here I come. But seriously, I was boiling mad inside. What kind of idiot gets to have Valia Toir's attention like that, then just goes and breaks her heart?

"What a jerk." I shook my head.

Valia sniffed. "Yeah, I know, right?" She exhaled slowly. "Why do you think he chose her, anyway?" Her voice was timid.

"Because he has no brain." I told her truthfully. "He's stupid, V. Any guy would be lucky to call you his Valentine today, okay?"

It was like she wasn't hearing me. "I don't get it. He acted like he really liked me, like I was special! Do you think it's because I'm so..." She waved her hands as if shooing away all the words that didn't fit. "...Weird?"

"You're unique. It's cool."

"Or goofy?"

"Fun."

"I'm a total ditz sometimes too."

"You just think faster than other people. Your thoughts get tangled up."

"And I'm obnoxious. And hyperactive." She was trying really hard not to cry, but she started to anyway, and at that moment I wanted to punch Fin Jacobs so hard he'd spin around in his underwear without touching the elastic.

"No, hey, listen, you're way more than all that." I told her quietly. "You're funny and you're smart and you're different. Not obnoxious or any of that other stupid stuff."

"Yeah, well." Valia sniffled, but I could tell she didn't take me seriously or even pay much attention. "I'll bet that girl wasn't anything like me. I'll bet that's why he liked her."

"Valia, he's just some moron..."

"See you later."

She left the table, interrupting me, (she's impulsive like that) and set off at a fast walk back toward the beach. Walking. Not bouncing.

It burned me up. Where did this guy get off, hurting my best friend like that? It took a lot to get peppy Valia Toir this upset. She must have seriously liked him. How could someone mess with another person's emotions and then rip 'em apart without a second thought? And it just happened to be Valentine's Day.

Great.

* * *

"Will you be needing anything else, Master Galan?"

Henry, the family butler, smiled at me from the door of my room.

"I hate it when you call me that, man," I told him, sitting on my bed. Calling me 'Master' Galan made it sound like he hadn't been the most loyal parent/friend I could have when I needed it, (when my parents weren't around and before I met Valia) which he knew very well already.

"Well?" He asked again, eyes twinkling with amusement.

"Actually, yeah. Henry, what do you know about love?"

He blinked at me, perplexed. "Are we talking about anyone in particular, Galan?"

"Uh, yes. Yeah. Me." I coughed into a fist.

His shaggy brown eyebrows went up. "Is that so? And who is the object of your affections, if I may ask?"

Here we go. "You probably know already."

He grinned. "I can't say it wasn't obvious, Master Galan."

"Isabella said I should leave her a hint today ."

"I see. Any reason why you can't just come out and tell her yourself?"

"Yes. Are you familiar with the term 'lily-livered', Henry?"

"Ah."

"Yeah. This Walker's too chicken."

"Indeed."

"So anyway, she sort of had a bad day..." I proceeded to tell Henry what Valia told me.

He listened patiently, something that wasn't in his job description, and nodded when I was finished.

"And you want to do something to make all the misery of today disappear for her, am I right?" asked my butler.

"Pretty much, yeah."

"Well, unfortunately I can only offer you a word of advice, Master Galan, as it's ultimately your decision." He leaned forward, smiling dryly. "Whatever gesture you make, make it a good one."

And with a wink, he left the room.

So just sat there on my bed, thinking. Valia's always been there for me. She's all the friends I've ever needed. Now she was having one of the worst days of her life and I was so mixed up I didn't know what to do to help. Talking to her obviously wasn't helping. And on top of that, I was maximum-stressed about how to show her I was king-size crushing on her. How long would it take for her to see how much I cared about her? Already it was feeling like forever.

Of course, I couldn't mope about that now. She needed me. I had to do something to turn her day around, make her forget that creep Fin.

Then I remembered something she'd done for me when we were 10 . I'd been sick and angry because my parents had been fighting all week, and I remember Henry sticking his head into the living room where I was sneezing on the couch. He'd handed me a note with sticky grape-jelly fingerprints on the side. It said:

"_Dear Galan,_

_Roses are red,_

_Violets are blue,_

_Poems are boring. I give up!_

_You need to get better so we can collect shells on the beach tomorrow! I went yesterday and I found this really cool bluish white one that was kinda purple! You gotta see it so get better right now!_

_Love, Valia_"

It was short and simple and sort of random, but it was just so Valia; at the time, nothing cheered me up more than the note she wrote me. We went shell-collecting the next day.

A note. A letter. Hey, they say writing is easier than face-to-face, right? Sometimes it's cowardly, but in this case...well, it sounded pretty stinkin' perfect.

So I got out a pen and a piece of paper, sat at the desk I barely ever used, and started writing...

* * *

**(Valia's POV)**

My name is Valia. Valia Toir! It's a weird name, right? I liked it that way. Only now I'm not so sure. Because apparently I'm not good enough to even be someone's stupid Valentine. I thought Fin liked me! I liked him, so what's the problem? Oh! Yeah! I'm a total freak, that's right! My parents say I shouldn't date anyway, which is good, 'cuz I wasn't planning on dating Fin Jacobs. Especially not now, duh! I just let my feelings get outta control and whammo-broken heart number one!

Talking to Galan sort of helped, because I got it all out, yay! But I was really close to crying in front of him, which totally womps, 'cuz I know Galan, and he just detests sad stuff. He's always completely chill; I wish I could be so laid-back! But I've gotta be the chatterbox weirdo nobody likes.

I was walking toward the usual shack me and my parents rented when we came to the Walker Resort. Galan 's super-sweet parents made it permanently ours, prob'ly 'cuz I spend so much time with Galan (he really is the best), and we've even moved some of our furniture in there! It's so cool!

Anyway, while I was walking I saw only one person on the trail up ahead of me. Just one person? And it was getting really quiet. I told myself to relax; at least it wasn't raining and I wasn't totally by myself...

You're probably confused, sorry! See, I have this awful wicked thing called monophobia, which is the fear of being alone. I've had it since practically forever, and the only time I actually feel safe with one other person by me is when I'm with Galan. I just got so used to him; he made it easy.

So I finally got to my shack and crashed on my bed. The sun was setting by now-I'd been walking on the beach all that time (thankfully it was packed, so I wasn't freaking out), trying to clear my head. Who knew I'd get so worked up over a guy?

Why did Fin have to be so totally charming? Boys!

And excuse me, but what did that other girl have that I didn't have?

I'll tell you!

She was prob'ly sweeter, and cuter, and smarter, and doesn't have some dumb phobia, and she prob'ly doesn't mix her sodas or wear some dorky purple hat or talk nonstop which must be super annoying or hop around or giggle all the time and she's prob'ly just...perfect!

Before I knew it, I was crying again. And to make matters totally worse, no one else was in the shack right then, so I was all alone. And starting to get weak in the knees because of it! Yikes!

I bolted from my bed , face still streaked with stupid tears, and started for the door, passing the coffee table.

Then, out of the corner of my eye, I saw a flash of red that didn't belong there. Apples? Blood? It better not be blood; that's just spooky...

Oh good, it wasn't blood. It was...omigosh! Oh my word! Wow!

It was a...red rose. Like, a real one! A genuine red rose. Laying there on the coffee table next to an envelope with my name on it!

I half hoped it was from Fin. But how did he find the address of this shack?

When I found out who it was really from, opening the envelope and unfolding a note on lined paper...

"_To my oldest friend:_

_It doesn't take makeup to make a girl pretty, which is cool because you don't wear any and you're still the prettiest one._

_It doesn't take logic and sense to make someone smart, which is perfect because you don't use any of that half the time and you're still way more clever than anyone I know._

_Everybody can just walk everywhere-it's easy. Normal. But you bounce all over the place like you can't hold down any of that happy-go-lucky you spread around, and if you ask me, that's a step up from walking._

_ It doesn't take someone's body or their words or their clothes to show love. You show it every day without trying to just about every stranger you come up to without having to use any of that stuff. You showed it to me and you're still doing it, just by being my friend. That's what today is about, right? Love. So thanks for teaching me how to use it, and I hope this gives some of that back. Happy Valentine's Day._

_-Galan_"

I read it over a couple times, almost choking up for a second there. Almost. And you know what? I was glad this wasn't from Fin. Nobody made me feel this mega awesome inside like my best friend.

I picked up the rose and sniffed it, surprised to find that, ha ha, it smelled just like chocolate! How did he do that?

I realized he was right. So Fin Jacobs was a loser and he chose some other girl. Okay! So what? I didn't care anymore. Because I didn't want him, and I so did not need him. He wasn't a good guy anyway. He was selfish. I knew several guys who he could totally learn a thing or twelve from; guys like Phineas, Ferb, Cody...and Galan.

I put the rose gently back onto the coffee table, read the note again, folded it back up, pocketed it, and bounced out the door. I had a best friend to thank.


End file.
